


TAG Kisses Under The Mistletoe

by Mars_McKie



Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: F/M, Kissing, M/M, Mistletoe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-01
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-09 04:51:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12880542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mars_McKie/pseuds/Mars_McKie
Summary: Over the Christmas period, the Tracy family face a mystery as a piece of mistletoe keeps turning up all over the Island. Who keeps putting it up? And in amongst all of the mayhem, will everyone get their desired kiss?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this planned out for quite a while now! I will be adding new chapters over December, so enjoy!

As December came around, the temperature remained much the same on the South Pacific paradise of Tracy Island, but by no means did that stop the family from decorating the villa ready for Christmas. Scott, Virgil, Gordon and Alan had found the biggest Christmas tree on the mainland, flew it back to the island after a rescue and dragged it up to the lounge from Thunderbird 2’s hangar. Grandma Tracy was waiting for them with a batch of homemade eggnog which they all refused with the excuse that they had to be sober in case of a rescue, so Grandma returned to the kitchen to make a non-alcoholic version. After a quick round of rock-paper-scissors, Virgil (who had lost and thus been nominated to test the eggnog) took to hiding under dad’s desk, praying for a real emergency to come up.

Gordon and Alan started decorating the tree while Scott arranged decorations around the room and Brains (using his suction boots) pinned tinsel from the ceiling. MAX had been drafted in to help decorate and the machine fumbled with the tape while handing up the tinsel to Brains, whose face was turning gradually redder as the blood rushed down into it. After she returned from her perimeter flight in Thunderbird S, Kayo hung stockings beneath each of their portraits.

The main hub looked like an explosion in Santa’s workshop, but as they would be having guests over Christmas they wanted to put on a real display.

“I think we’re there!” said Scott, wiping a glittery hand across his forehead.

“Just putting the star on!” shouted Alan as he sat on Gordon’s shoulders. Gordon wobbled precariously and they all rushed over to steady him enough for Alan to place the star on top of the tree. Brains turned the fairy lights on so that multi-coloured lights winked at them all around the room.

“Nice,” murmured Kayo.

“Very beautiful,” agreed Grandma, as Alan was decanted by Gordon onto a sofa. “Now, who wants some eggnog?”

“I r-really need to get on with some updates,” stammered Brains. “Come on MAX; let’s get b-back to the lab.”

“But I made non-alcoholic this time!” Grandma protested to the retreating feet and wheels.

“I think Virgil was keen to give it a try,” said Scott with a slight smirk. He might be hiding, but Virgil wasn’t going to get out of it that easily.

“Come on Virgil!” Grandma called to Jeff’s desk, by now very familiar with the boys’ favourite place to hide when they were trying to avoid her cooking. “I’ve put a special Christmas punch in it!” She took the stairs down to the kitchen.

“That can mean anything from cinnamon to cranberry sauce!” Gordon said sadistically as Virgil surfaced from behind the desk with a grimace.

“If I get poisoned and can’t fly Thunderbird 2, I’m blaming you three,” said Virgil mutinously.

“You’ll live. Probably,” grinned Scott as he slung an arm around Alan’s shoulder and led the way down to the kitchen. They may well have sent Virgil to his eggy doom and they weren’t above seeing him through it.

“Who put that up?” asked Virgil. He pointed to something above Scott and Alan’s heads as they made to walk towards the stairs. Looking up, they saw hung from the upper balcony a small, innocuous sprig of mistletoe, a little red ribbon tied around the top.

Gordon burst out laughing as Scott asked, “Who put up mistletoe?”

“Don’t look at me, I was under the desk the whole time!” Virgil reminded him. Gordon wiped a tear away and shook his head, as did Kayo.

“It’s bad news for you though, Alan,” Kayo smirked.

“Huh? Why?” Alan looked at her in alarm.

“Well, it’s bad luck if you don’t kiss under the mistletoe,” said Kayo, and Virgil laughed too. “You’ll get seven Christmases of bad luck and the ghosts will visit you while you sleep.”

Kayo had been teasing him rather ruthlessly ever since she had found out about his fear of ghosts and Alan flushed angrily. “You just made that up!” He didn’t look too sure of himself though.

“Ha, don’t worry Alan,” said Scott, and he planted a firm kiss on Alan’s forehead. “I’ll make sure the ghosts keep their distance.”

“You sure that will do the trick?” said Gordon, clearly hoping to make Alan more uncomfortable.

“Yes,” said Scott, a note of warning to his voice. “And we should probably take this down now, too-”

Reaching up, he plucked the sprig of mistletoe off the balcony. He didn’t need it causing any more mischief.


	2. Chapter 2

A few days -and a bout of stomach cramps for Virgil, who still couldn’t understand how it was possible to burn eggnog- later, they received their first guest down on the island. Alan was there to pull John into the biggest hug (received with great awkwardness) the moment he stepped out of the space elevator. He would have to return to Thunderbird 5 in a few days to do one more shift before he was properly down for Christmas, but this way John got to have a few more days with his brothers. Or at least that was Scott’s reasoning.

John’s first stop was to Brains’ workshop where he handed over a faulty modem for their engineer to fix. He plugged a core into the home computer system and EOS’s display of spinning circles appeared on a nearby screen. Though the AI’s memory core remained up on Thunderbird 5, John hadn’t wanted her to be lonely while he was gone so this way she was able to monitor calls to International Rescue and keep an open line to John at all times. He had also grown used to her presence.

As John and EOS rattled off a list of maintenance they had performed up on Thunderbird 5 to Brains, a holo-link to the kitchen was patched through.

“Did I hear Alan correctly?” came Grandma Tracy’s voice. “Is my grandson back on Earth?”

“Hi Grandma,” John smiled. “I’ll be up shortly- I’m just going over some repairs with Brains.”

“You do that and hurry on up here,” said Grandma. “I’m making a large batch of mince pies and I know you don’t eat enough proper food up on that spaceship.”

The link cut off and John turned to Brains. “Any chance I could hide down here for the rest of Christmas?”

“D-don’t worry,” said Brains. “MAX has been helping her in the kitchen so they s-should be safe.”

“Should be?” John repeated, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s as m-much reassurance as I can give, I’m a-afraid!”

John took his time showering and changing from his uniform into his normal clothes, but it seemed he had nothing to fear as he passed Scott on the stairs with a plate stacked high with mince pies and one pie halfway to his mouth.

“I take it they’re good?” John asked as Scott ate half of the pie in one bite.

“Hm, yhhh,” said Scott thickly through his mouthful. He clapped John on the shoulder by way of greeting and continued up the stairs as John walked into the kitchen.

The decorating spree his brothers had been on also swept through the kitchen so that it looked as festive as the lounge. Gordon was sat at the table with his own plate onto which Grandma was piling homemade mince pies and hand-whipped cream. Behind her, MAX had another load on the go. The smell was gorgeous.

“Ah, there he is!” said Grandma. John managed to avoid a hug, though her hands clasped around his wrists instead. “Wow you’re too thin- sit down!”

John relented obediently as Grandma dragged him under a load of decorations hanging from the ceiling to the table but a whistle from MAX drew their attention. They paused in their tracks and looked around.

“What’s up MAX?” John asked. The robot made a series of whirring noises, pointed to above their heads and Gordon let out a loud laugh. A sprig of mistletoe hung amongst the decorations, its evergreen leaves and white berries instantly recognisable and thoroughly unwelcome.

“ _John, my sensors indicate that is the common hemi-parasitic plant known as mistletoe_ ,” came EOS’s voice.

“Yes, EOS,” said John, guessing what her next question was going to be. Sure enough-

“ _My research suggests that it is traditional for lovers to kiss underneath it at Christmas_.”

Grandma Tracy grinned. “That’s correct, EOS,” and without warning she pulled John in close and planted a big wet kiss on his cheek, the like of which she used to give the boys when they were children, and -as he had done then- John blushed red and rubbed his cheek in embarrassment.

“ _Should I bring some up to Thunderbird 5 when you meet with Captain O’Bannon for your Handball game next week?_ ” EOS continued, satisfied that her research had been confirmed.

“Definitely!” Gordon shouted in glee.

“No! EOS, Ridley and I are just friends,” John protested. The AI had seemed intent these past few weeks to act as matchmaker for the two of them, and John couldn’t work out what she meant by it.

Gordon ooooohed coyly.

“Just friends,” John reasserted. He reached up, snatched the mistletoe and threw it in the nearby bin.

“Fine,” huffed Gordon, before singing, “John and Ridley sittin’ up in space, suck-ing off each oth-ers’ face!”

It wasn’t clear whether it was the back of Grandma’s hand or John’s fist which connected first, but Gordon was sporting two spectacular bruises for days afterwards.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter to be posted on the 9th...


	3. Chapter 3

After being teased about gaining weight by his brothers and getting a caution from Grandma, the mince pies had since been hidden from Scott’s reach. But that didn’t change the fact that the pies had been made and Scott could track the smell like a trained sniffer dog.

He poked his head around the corner of the door like a spy on a mission- only John and Alan were sat at the table in the kitchen and Grandma was nowhere in sight. It seemed safe.

Scott strolled in as casually as possible. “Good morning,” he said airily, ruffling Alan’s hair as he went past.

“Get off!” Alan groaned, swatting his hand away.

“Morning Scott,” John nodded. “Have you had breakfast yet?”

“No, just deciding what to have,” said Scott evasively, innocently checking a few cupboards. John and Alan exchanged knowing glances.

“I thought Grandma told you to lay off the mince pies?” John gave him a mock stern glance.

“If you’d been starved of edible food all year, you’d get cravings too,” said Scott.

“Oh yeah, because space food is _so_ _nutritious_ ,” said John sarcastically.

Scott opened a cupboard, but no joy. The smell of cinnamon from John’s morning bagel had confused him momentarily. With a long inhale, he tried another cupboard.

“It’s always a pleasure watching the way your mind works,” Alan laughed as Scott rummaged right to the back of the saucepans.

“If you want to save time by telling me where they are, by all means,” came Scott’s muffled reply. Giving up in the cupboards, he straightened up. There was a lip between the top of the wall unit and the natural bedrock on the island, so climbing up onto the counter (he could sense rather than see John and Alan smirking behind him) he peered up on top of the cupboards.

“Ah ha!” he exclaimed, pulling the plate of mince pies towards him.

“One minute and fifty-two seconds,” said Alan, and John handed over a twenty.

“Did you doubt me?” said Scott, obliterating most of one pie in one bite. He polished off half of the mince pies (hiding them up again to finish off later) and washed them down with a pint of milk straight from the carton.

“Any more of those and you won’t be able to fit into your uniform,” John grinned.

“Maybe, but it’ll never be as tight as your spacesuit!” Scott winked, which shut John up fairly well. He was about to leave up the stairs to check in with Colonel Casey when Virgil came down the stairs.

“Mornin’,” he said with a yawn and a stretch.

“We’ll just about give you that, Virgil, it is one minute to midday,” John pointed out. Behind him, Alan snorted. “It wasn’t that funny...” John muttered.

“No, not that- look!” Alan pointed to where Scott and Virgil had paused in the doorway. Looking up, they saw the sprig of mistletoe had returned.

“I took that down last week!” Scott exclaimed.

“I threw it away the other day!” said John, backing him up. “It’s the same little red bow and everything.”

Scott and Virgil looked at each other and a thin grin spread across their faces, neither of them a quitter from a challenge. Scott put his right hand against the wall over Virgil’s shoulder, pinning his younger brother against the wall. Virgil’s eyes twinkled and he raised his leg to Scott’s hip, pulling him in close.

“No!” moaned Alan, covering his fingers with his eyes.  
  
They both knew neither of them were being serious, more they were trying to see how far they could take it before the other cracked, or until they’d weirded out Alan or John enough to scar them for life. Scott calculated his next move and stroked his fingers along Virgil’s jawline, lifting his chin up to his. Though he was smirking like mad, Virgil was determined not to be the first to laugh. He flicked his tongue suggestively across Scott’s lips, which thinned as Scott nearly cracked then and there.

Off to the side, Alan was watching this performance through his fingers, while John had his face in one hand and was shaking with silent laughter.

There were tears of mirth in Scott’s bright eyes and a challenging glee in Virgil’s, and after a few seconds of hesitation they each pulled the other roughly together and locked lips in a quick, harsh kiss, before pushing each other away and doubling up with laughter.

“God, you two are so weird!” Alan exclaimed. John merely shook his head.

“Aw, you’re just jealous Alan,” cooed Virgil, licking his lips. “And _you’ve_ been at the mince pies again!”

“Maybe,” said Scott, winking at Virgil. “But you’re welcome to join me up in Thunderbird 1 _any day_!”

“ _La la la_ , I’m not listening!” shouted Alan, stuffing his fingers in his ears and running from the kitchen. The three of them all burst out laughing.

“Right, let’s get rid of you now,” said Virgil, recovering first and throwing the mistletoe into the bin. “Any idea who put it up again?”

“I’m going to assume Gordon,” said Scott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter to be posted on the 13th...


	4. Chapter 4

Grandma Tracy worked out a way to stop Scott going after the mince pies, involving a decoy pie in a high cupboard and a precariously balanced bag of flour set against the cupboard door. Scott was seen skulking away from the kitchen with the lone mince pie and his head and shoulders covered in flour, much to the amusement of his brothers.

John returned to Thunderbird 5 to complete his final shift before Christmas. Though he had been mostly silent in his time down, they all missed his presence. At least until his hologram popped up in the lounge with word of some charity swimmers who had become stranded in the English Channel after a storm had blown up. Virgil and Gordon left to deal with them, and about five minutes later they were followed by Scott answering a distress signal in Florida and Kayo answering a call from the GDF, having a possible lead to The Hood in Australia.

“Anything I can do to help?” asked Alan, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet.

“Do your homework,” John responded, and his hologram disappeared.

Alan had used John’s presence as an excuse to avoid homework, saying John wanted to spend quality family time with them, but now that excuse was gone. Maths was dull; Biology was dull; Chemistry could be fun if there were explosions involved, but this was just theory so Chemistry was dull too; Physics at least had some relevance if it involved space, but it was currently all about radiation. Dull, dull, dull.

He opened up a cheeky side tab and watched a bit of racing, but was shut down after a minute by John (who had been monitoring Alan on the side to make sure he was doing his homework). Alan called up John to complain and used the open link to distract both of them for a few minutes before John realised what he was up to and turned off the link. He also locked the computer screen to the Physics homework, this time making sure Alan couldn’t open any other tabs.

Two hours later, Alan yawned in boredom. He was sat -as he had been for the last four hours of homework- on his bedroom floor, contemplating a nap when there was a knock at the door. He got up and answered it - it was Kayo.

“John said you’re getting cabin fever; I thought you could use a break,” she said and held out a mince pie on a napkin. Alan accepted it gratefully.

“Thanks. Any leads on The Hood?”

“Nothing,” Kayo gritted her teeth. While they were all alarmed by The Hood being on the loose once again, Kayo was taking it personally. “A few empty crates and a booby trap bomb, but we managed to clear the surrounding area faster than Virgil on a stomach-full of Grandma’s eggnog.”

Alan snorted. He would save that one for when Virgil got back later!

“So, he may have been there once but isn’t there now,” Kayo finished.

“Oh,” Alan moaned sympathetically. “Don’t worry about it too much- it’s not like you have to go back to his for Christmas!”

Kayo huffed a small laugh at this and rolled her eyes heavenward. In doing so she froze, noticing the mistletoe hung above the door. It was on the outside of the door as well- how had she missed it?

She flared angrily and as Alan saw what she was looking at she grabbed the front of his top.

“Did you put that up there?” She whispered venomously.

“No!” Alan cried, clearly terrified, but also honest in his protest. Kayo relaxed her hold slightly, but felt a vein pulse in her temple. She had a feeling she was about to regret her previous torment about ghosts. Alan seemed to be thinking about this too. “Um...”

“There’s no such thing as ghosts,” Kayo said through gritted teeth. “And bad luck is a loser’s excuse.”

“O-OK,” Alan stammered. Kayo could tell he wasn’t convinced. “But... um...”

_You aren’t going to let this go, are you?_ Kayo thought with a grimace. _Might as well get this over with._ “Fine.”

Her fists dragged Alan towards her, she screwed up her eyes and kissed him firmly on the lips. For his part, Alan’s lips were soft and his eyes widened in surprise. He barely had time to note how her lips swamped his and the pleasant flavour of her lipstick before she broke it off.

“Don’t you dare tell anyone about this,” Kayo sneered. She snatched the mistletoe and made a beeline down to the incinerator.

Alan opened and closed his mouth like a goldfish. He had never understood his older brothers when they spoke about the need for a cold shower, but -as he opened a secure channel to John to verify what the hell had just happened- he suddenly felt like he needed one now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter to be posted on the 17th...


	5. Chapter 5

“Tracy Hi-land his now hin sight, M’Lady,” said Parker as the island paradise loomed over the horizon.

“Excellent,” said Penelope. “Not a moment too soon- I think Sherbert is quite ready for some time outside, _aren’t you Bertie?_ ”

Parker heard her nuzzle her nose against the dog’s and kept his foot hard down on the pedal. The last thing he needed was to be scrubbing the backseat of FAB1 if they couldn’t land in time. Thankfully, a minute later they were over the runway, the jet engines retracted into the wheels and they landed safely.

“Hit seems like we have a whelcoming committee,” Parker pointed to where Master Scott and Miss Kayo were stepping forward to greet them. Parker opened his door (Sherbert shot out between his legs and made a beeline for the nearest palm tree), got out and opened the other side door for Lady Penelope to step out.

“Lady Penelope! Parker! Welcome,” said Scott.

“Scott, Kayo, it’s absolutely smashing to see you both again,” said Penelope, kissing Kayo on both cheeks. Parker merely nodded to them both as he stood in the background. “I have so missed the island; it’s wonderful to be here again for Christmas.”

It had become a yearly tradition; Penelope and Parker would spend a few days -including Christmas Day- on Tracy Island, and -providing there were no emergencies- the boys would fly their Thunderbirds over to England for New Year’s Eve at Creighton-Ward Mansion.

“It might be best if we move out of the way,” said Kayo. “Thunderbird 2 is on the way back.”

“Hi’ll just park the car, M’Lady,” Parker nodded, as Penelope scooped up Sherbert and followed Scott and Kayo up a pathway to the villa. The cliff face opened and Parker drove the pink Rolls-Royce into the designated parking space.

A minute later, Thunderbird 2 glided back into its hangar, completed its landing checks and Masters Virgil, Gordon and Alan stepped out of the green behemoth to greet him. They were a welcome sight.

“Jhust hin time,” Parker smiled at them. “You can help with the bags!”

The smiles of the three brothers faltered as Parker opened the boot, revealing the assortment of suitcases, bags and hatboxes that Penelope had managed to fill (along with Parker’s own duffel bag). Between the four of them, they just about managed everything in the elevator in one trip.

“Phew!” Alan collapsed under the weight of his armful of bags outside the guest room and Gordon followed suit. “What has she packed? Bricks?”

“Those are Sherbert’s treats,” came Penelope’s voice from behind them. Gordon leapt to his feet at once and turned to face her and Kayo.

“Why Lady Penelope!” Gordon exclaimed, leaning suavely against the wall. Virgil gave an awkward little wave, his arms still full.

“I had to pack so many dog treats because Bertie is such a good boy,” said Penelope. The pug in her arms gave a bark in agreement. “But if the bag is too heavy for you, Gordon, then I’m sure Kayo...”

“Oh, it’s no trouble,” Gordon protested, heaving up the bags again.

The girls moved on and his brothers and Parker all smirked at Gordon. “Vhery smooth sir,” commented Parker.

They dropped the suitcases in the guest room and the boys went to their rooms to change while Parker made his way down to the kitchen.

“Put those down!” Ms Tracy snarled at him as he made to prepare a tray of drinks for everyone. “You are our guest and you are here to relax, not to work!”

“Hare you sure there his nothing Hi can do to help?” asked Parker.

“Well, if you insist, you can give me your recipe for the mulled wine you made last year,” said Grandma with a wink.

“The secret is cloves,” Parker winked back. They set a batch to heat for later and Grandma allowed him to carry the tray up the stairs. Everyone was now debriefing out on the deck by the pool, but before they could join them Parker stopped.

“Ho my!” he pointed at a sprig of mistletoe that had been set over the doorway. Grandma Tracy huffed and put her hands on her hips.

“I’m going to be having some words with Gordon!” she fumed.

“Hit’s no matter,” said Parker. He set the tray down on a nearby table, took Grandma’s hand and brushed his lips over the back of it. Grandma smiled and blushed, pretending to fan herself with her hand.

“Oh my, you do know how to charm a lady!” she said coyly.

“Why thank you,” Parker replied. He made to pick up the drinks but was intercepted by MAX, who picked up the tray and rolled out onto the deck. “Oi! Come back here, you pesky rhobot! That’s my job!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter to be posted on the 21st...


	6. Chapter 6

Gordon huffed to himself as he flipped over in the pool. He’d got such a bollocking from Grandma after the latest sprig of mistletoe had been found and his protests to the contrary fell on deaf ears, though he couldn’t blame them completely. He had certainly attempted to use mistletoe to get a kiss from the fair Lady Penelope in previous years, but after consistent failures (and Grandma’s yearly lecture about harassment, taking pranks too far and dubious consent) he dropped the habit.

He reached the other end of the pool, flipped and kicked against the wall. The family could usually tell what mood Gordon was in depending on what stroke he was doing- he did breaststroke when he was feeling happy, backstroke when he was relaxing or had back pains, butterfly stroke when he wanted to push himself physically, and front crawl when he was in a bad mood. He was now on his twelfth length on the front crawl, but on his next lap flipped so that he was floating on his back. The kick off the edge propelled him into the middle of the pool where he put minimum effort into keeping himself afloat, the irritation of being bollocked burned out of him and leaving him with a clear mind as he gazed into the sky.

Many times in the past he had tried to rationalise what exactly he felt for Penelope. His brothers knew Gordon identified as bisexual, but also knew he had never felt this serious about anyone before. It felt like he might go mad if he couldn't do something -anything- to gain her affection.

Unaware of how far he’d been drifting, his head hit the edge of the pool.

“Ow!” Gordon yelled, flailing in the water as he clutched the top of his head.

His vision spinning, Gordon climbed out and grabbed the towel from the nearest deckchair. He dried himself off as best he could, pulled on a shirt on top of his Speedos (he had swapped out his usual Hawaiian shirts for an equally gaudy red Christmas shirt decorated with snowmen), slung the wet towel over his shoulder and made his way back up the steps to the villa.

He really had no idea what Penelope might say if he was to ask her out. He liked to see his childishness as a fun thing rather than being immature, and he could be plenty mature and serious when the occasion called for it. Perhaps if he was more forthcoming in asking her out?

“Hello Gordon,” said a light, airy voice and Gordon nearly jumped out of his skin. He’d almost walked slap bang into Lady Penelope on the steps. She was dressed in her own pink one-piece swimsuit with her hair in a bun and carrying a towel under one arm, no doubt about to go swimming herself.

“Penelope! Sorry, I was miles away!” said Gordon, instantly going to run his hand through his wet hair before he caught himself. He lowered his hand awkwardly to his side.

“Yes, you seemed it,” Penelope agreed. Gordon inwardly cursed himself for not thinking of anything interesting to say and Penelope seemed to pick up on this. “I’m just going for a swim-”

“Yes! Well... enjoy,” said Gordon, and he hurried past her. He couldn’t do it; he did his best to come across as charming rather than irritating, but if his flirtation was a nuisance to Penelope then that felt worse than if she were to outright reject his advances.

“Gordon, wait!” Penelope had followed him back to the villa. “Won’t you join me?”

“I... I’ve already been... the water is nice and warm though... I should get back now.” There was no real reason he was now avoiding her, particularly as it was her extending the invitation to him. Penelope gave a giggle and Gordon turned in confusion. Hanging above his head was the same piece of mistletoe that had been plaguing the island the past couple of weeks.

Gordon jumped in alarm and moved away swiftly. “I didn’t put that there!”

Penelope laughed lightly. “I’ll believe you. Come here.” She stepped forward under the mistletoe.

“You really don’t have to,” said Gordon, his eyes wide.

“I know. But we’re both mature adults; we can handle this.” She held out her arms to him and Gordon stepped forward hesitantly into them. With the three year age difference between them, Gordon had spent so much of his life looking up to her, but now he was able to look right into those eyes as blue as the ocean he so adored.

Penelope gave an easy smile and leaned forward to kiss him. He carefully set his hands on her waist and kissed her back.

It started cautious and tentative on Gordon’s part, but as he became accustomed it felt like a wave pulling him under and he let himself sink into the passionate kiss. A moment of pure bliss which fate allowed him to have and hold and _love_.

All too soon, Penelope pulled away. “There. That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she smiled, and continued down to the pool with a wave of her hand.

Gordon gave a shaky laugh before he took down the mistletoe and practically skipped away. He didn’t need his brothers accusing him of planting the mistletoe... not when he was completely innocent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter to be posted on the 25th (providing I have internet!)


	7. Chapter 7

The eve of Christmas Eve was upon them as the sun sank over the island. John joined his brothers in a single glass of mulled wine, Gordon subjected them all to his Batman-themed rendition of ‘Jingle Bells’, and Virgil led them all in singing ‘We Wish You A Merry Christmas’ from the piano.

“Happy Saturnalia!” Brains cheered, and the brothers laughed. Alan gave a huge yawn.

“I think we would all benefit from an early night,” Penelope smiled. “I doubt any of you have had a decent night’s sleep all year.”

The boys, Kayo, Grandma and Parker nodded in agreement and drifted towards their bedrooms, but Brains and MAX slipped away unnoticed. Brains tiptoed (MAX rolled as quietly as possible) down to his lab where he still had work to do ready for Christmas Day.

He rubbed his hands together, pushed a cart loaded with six cylindrical canisters towards the lift and (after checking that nobody was looking out of the windows) out to the pool. Brains attempted to lift the first canister and nearly put his back out. MAX moved forward and lifted it with ease.

“T-thank you MAX,” said Brains, massaging his lower back. “Out of sight behind that bush s-should do it.” MAX set the canister where instructed. “Right. N-next spot- over there.”

Brains and MAX worked for 15 minutes setting the canisters. Brains gave MAX the legwork of heavy lifting, particularly when it came to sending the machine hiking halfway up the rocks by the main living area. The canisters were set to fire from a remote control, which Brains had planned for when they were all gathered around the tree in the morning. He had studied blueprints of the island, calculated the best strategic points at which to set the canisters to provide an equal coverage, done small scale tests, and checked weather charts- he wanted this to be perfect.

The final two spots would need to be set on top on the main living space, which could be accessed via the bedroom corridor. The other inhabitants on the island were all in their rooms for the night which suited Brains fine, though he shushed MAX as they opened the exit and set the first canister. They crept slowly past the bedrooms to the other end of the corridor, but then a door opened behind them-

“Brains?” Virgil stuck his head out. Brains leapt in front of the canister in an effort to hide it. “What are you up to?”

Brains pressed a finger to his lips. “It’s s-supposed to be a surprise!”

This only succeeded in making Virgil more curious. “Oh?”

“It’s m-my present to you all- t-tomorrow, I’m going to make it snow!”

“Really? You can do that?” Virgil’s eyes went wide with wonder, but after all of Brains’ miracles he had made for International Rescue, nothing should have surprised Virgil anymore.

“Oh yes. It’s quite simple really,” said Brains, adjusting his glasses.

“Here MAX, let me get that-” With ease, Virgil lifted the final canister and set it outside the door, out of sight for the morning. “I’m presuming _you_ can do a better job of a weather machine than Langstrom Fischler?”

“Don’t get me started!” exclaimed Brains. “If you would follow me to the lab I would be happy to give you a demonstration...”

Virgil followed Brains and MAX with the cart back to the lab. He watched in wonder as Brains showed him a machine which crystallised droplets of water to form perfect snow.

“And f-for distribution...” Brains turned on a fan, scooped up a loose handful and the fan fired it into the air, the snowflakes drifting back down around them.

“Wow!” Virgil laughed, catching a snowflake in his hand before a snowball hit him in the side of the face. Cold water trickled into his ear and down his neck. He spun around wildly and MAX affected an innocent gait. “Oh, it is on MAX; tomorrow you are going down!”

Brains laughed. “Well, that r-really is all there is to it. Hopefully it s-should work.”

“I’ve never doubted your machines before; I’m not going to start now,” said Virgil. “We should get to bed - Santa doesn’t visit if he sees that we’re awake!”

Virgil winked and Brains moved with him to the door of the lab. “Y-yes. You’re right.”

MAX gave an excited whistle. Brains looked up to see what the robot was trying to tell them about and saw mistletoe hung from the door of his lab.

“Not another piece!” Virgil sighed.

“How did that get up there?” asked Brains indignantly.

“Someone has been putting that stuff up around the island for weeks now,” Virgil explained. “I thought it was Gordon or Alan, but they profess they’re innocent.”

Another whirr drew their attention. MAX was tapping its hands together and looking expectantly between the two of them. Brains moved away, adjusting his thick blue glasses.

“We don’t have to kiss if you don’t want to,” Virgil pointed out. “It’s only a dumb superstition.”

“T-thanks,” Brains mumbled. “B-but... if it is t-tradition...”

“Only if you’re comfortable with it,” Virgil reiterated.

“Yes!” Brains exclaimed. “I m-mean, if it’s O-OK with y-you.” Brains was aware of how much worse his stutter was becoming the more nervous he got and was beginning to curse the whole situation. If only he had been more confident, perhaps he could have told Virgil how he felt-

“One Christmas kiss coming right up!” Virgil smiled, stepped forward and gently brought Brains’ face up to his own.

Brains’ eyes went wide behind his glasses before they fluttered shut as a melting feeling spread over his body. Virgil’s kiss was tender and light, his lips slightly coarse and his own eyes shut. Somewhere in the back of his mind that wasn’t lost to bliss, Brains counted three seconds before Virgil pulled away. From this distance Brains could see every snowflake that still clung to Virgil’s hair and eyelashes, stubbornly refusing to melt.

The blood suddenly rushed into Brains’ face and he moved away, pretending to sort out some diagrams to cover his red face.

“Was that OK?” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, not sure where to go from there. “I’m sorry if that was forward of me-”

“N-no! Not at all!” Brains countered, waving a dismissive hand, not able to meet Virgil’s gaze.

“Sorry,” Virgil repeated.

“I just need to t-tidy these papers away and then I’ll go to b-bed,” said Brains, putting far too much attention into tidying than was necessary.

“R.A.D.” Virgil murmured and moved away. The use of his catchphrase made Brains’ chest leap in a strange manner. He grabbed the piece of mistletoe and threw it into the nearby waste paper bin, but then bit his lip. Determination stole over him and he ran to the door of his lab. Virgil was already calling the lift.

“Virgil!” Brains yelled, and Virgil stopped and turned. Before Brains could change his mind, he yelled, “W-would you want to watch _Star Trek: The O-Original Series_ with me s-sometime?”

“...You mean like a date?” Virgil called back. Brains clutched the edge of a table for support as the seconds ticked by. “Sure!”

“R-really?” Brains’ knees buckled as his heart leaped triumphantly. Virgil gave him a thumbs up as the lift door closed. Brains laughed in relief as he walked back into the lab and collapsed into his chair, covering his face with his hands. He’d finally worked up the courage and done it!

MAX gave a whirr and Brains peered through his fingers to watch the robot. MAX rolled past Brains, took the mistletoe from the bin and stuck it back over the door of the lab. Brains’ eyes went wide once more.

“ _M-MAX!_ You’re the one who’s been p-putting up the mistletoe!” Brains deduced.

MAX gave a series of beeps in confirmation.

“You were only trying to c-complete your orders to decorate the island for C-Christmas?”

MAX nodded. Brains laughed softly, relieved, and bent down to kiss the top of the robot’s head. Its camera zoomed in and out of focus in excitement.

“M-Merry Christmas, MAX!” said Brains.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter to be posted on the 29th. Happy Holidays!


	8. Chapter 8

“It’s slightly belated, but Merry Christmas John!” said Ridley as she glided through the airlock on Thunderbird 5.

“We’re closer to New Year now, but yes- Merry Christmas to you too,” said John. “I trust it was adequate?”

“Hm, dehydrated turkey dinner, followed by charades with the GDF and an impromptu space walk because an audio receiver had been broken by a micrometeoroid,” Ridley recounted. “How about yours?”

“Similar, but the turkey was fresh and the afternoon walk was to the beach instead.”

“I did notice you’re looking less pale than usual!”

“And for that, you won’t be getting the leftover roast turkey sandwiches I brought back up for you!”

“And how are you, EOS?” Ridley asked, ignoring his teasing as they drifted through the main communications hub. “Did you have a good Christmas?”

“ _Oh yes_ ,” came the AI’s voice through the speakers and a hologram of her spinning rims appeared as they passed through into the gravity ring. “ _Through the efforts of John’s brothers, I was able to witness the traditions of putting a tree indoors, drinking warm fermented grape juice, bad singing, and exchanging strange presents in large socks_.”

“Aw, did they not get you any presents?”

“ _Alan gave me a flash drive in the shape of Santa, and John wrote a few lines of code for me which meant I was able to join in with their charades tournament._ ”

“I wouldn’t call it a tournament, exactly-” John murmured.

“ _John was very bad at it and made us lose!_ ” said EOS, her LED ring red in irritation. Ridley laughed at her bitterness. John was getting the impression more and more often that the two ladies were ganging up on him.

“I received the picture you sent me, EOS, thank you for that!” said Ridley.

“What picture?” John asked, completely oblivious. The image she was referring to flashed up on the nearest screen- it was from Christmas Day of his four brothers forcing John into an awful knitted lilac sweater with an orange letter J emblazoned across the front. The jumpers had been a gift from Grandma, his brothers already in their clashing multicoloured ones and looking equally gaudy and goofy while he was red-faced.

John groaned as Ridley and EOS both laughed. Making jokes at his expense- they were definitely ganging up on him.

“I suppose terrible jumpers is another Christmas tradition,” said Ridley, wiping a tear away.

“ _Brains made it snow_ ,” EOS continued excitedly. “ _It looked like it did in the movies, but there wasn’t enough for a snowman so the boys all ganged up on Kayo in a snowball fight and she obliterated them_.”

The footage played on the screen of the Christmas Day snowball fight and Ridley watched as Gordon ‘accidentally’ threw a snowball at John’s head.

“I still owe Gordon back for that,” John muttered.

“ _MAX also introduced me to another Christmas tradition_ ,” said EOS, and here her favourite monitor camera glided down a rail towards them, her LED ring a pink-purple colour and a sprig of mistletoe tied with a gold ribbon hanging neatly from the monitor. Its evergreen leaves and white berries were as unwelcome a sight to John up here as they had been on the island. EOS’s monitor halted over the heads of the two humans.

John rolled his eyes. “EOS, I told you not to bring that up.”

“No worries, EOS,” Ridley smiled mischievously.

The simple presence of the word ‘gravity’ in the gravity ring meant John was clumsy on his feet, and he definitely wasn’t ready for when Ridley spun him into her arms. He tripped over his own feet and dipped to the floor, her holding him like they were ballroom dancers, before she planted her lips wickedly on top of his.

John’s lips were dry and parted slightly in surprise, while Ridley’s were smooth and confident. John managed not to blush, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t left stunned as Ridley took his lips parting as a sign to deepen the kiss. After a few seconds, she pulled back.

“If that was what you wanted, you didn’t have to go to the measure of putting EOS up to this!” Ridley teased with a wink.

For once, John was left speechless, but he was saved having to answer (and the soft smile that played across his lips remained hidden) by Ridley swinging him upright again and addressing EOS, “I’m guessing you saw quite a bit of action under the mistletoe?”

“ _Indeed. I recorded kisses between John and Grandma Tracy,_ -” John groaned, embarrassed as EOS began reeling them off. “- _Scott and Virgil, Kayo and Alan, Grandma and Parker, Gordon and Lady Penelope, and Virgil and Brains_.”

“What?” John exclaimed as EOS finished. Then he remembered- he’d left EOS’s connection plugged in on Tracy Island, meaning she had been able to see everything on all of the cameras on the Island over the whole of the Christmas period. And it seemed like a lot had been going on without him realising. The news confounded him. “Grandma and Parker? Gordon and Penelope? _Virgil and Brains?_ What’s been going on?”

“Come on,” Ridley sighed and grabbed his hand, pulling him away. “Let’s go play some Handball.”

“No, wait- EOS! This is important! Tell me!”

“ _Maybe if you win this time_.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have really enjoyed writing this, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it too!
> 
> Until next time ;)


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